Zucchini Soup

Tomato soup is fantastic!

And it’s great for those cold months when you really just need some tomato soup and grilled cheese in your belly…

But hopefully those months will be behind us soon…

And tomato soup’s cousin has come to town, ready to play!

I thought it would be fun to experiment with some zucchini and make it into a soup.

But at the same time I say that, I honestly had no idea it would be this good!

Start with some onions and garlic (obviously, the best way to start!)…

Then add some zucchini and stock…

Puree with avocado for creaminess, and then some parm for kick…

And that’s it!

It’s silky and light, but still totally satisfying.

If your kids don’t gobble it right up, you’ll have no problem eating all the leftovers!

And when the leftovers are gone, just remember how easy it was to prepare everything and get it on the stove!

Zucchini Soup

servings: 2; makes 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3 medium zucchini (about 1½ pounds total), peeled + grated, with peels reserved for a garnish
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• ½ medium avocado
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and cook them until they are softened but not brown—3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the grated zucchini and stock, then bring the mixture to a simmer and cook covered until the zucchini is very soft—about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Use a soupspoon to scoop the flesh into a blender. Then add the cooked zucchini mixture to the blender and puree its contents until smooth.
4. Transfer the soup back to the pot and add the parmesan, salt, and thyme, cooking over medium-high until the soup is heated through, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Serve by dividing the soup into two bowls and garnishing each with the reserved zucchini peels. If you desire, you can also garnish the soup with ground black pepper or additional parmesan cheese.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in MORE VEGGIES PLEASE!

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Buffalo Cabbage Spring Rolls

Check out this recipe for my Buffalo Cabbage Spring Rolls—from my book Meat On The Side!

Buffalo Cabbage Spring Rolls

servings: 6 Spring Rolls + 1 Cup Dipping Sauce

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce:

• ½ cup blue cheese crumbles (2 ounces)
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped scallions, (green parts only)
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Buffalo Cabbage Spring Rolls:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half (6 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• ⅓ cup Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
• 2½ cups lightly packed cabbage slaw mix (from the supermarket)
• ¾ cup finely chopped celery
• ¼ cup finely chopped scallions
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 6 flour egg roll wrappers
• Canola oil, for frying

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce:

1. Put the blue cheese crumbles in a small bowl, breaking up the pieces if they are bigger larger than ¼ inch. Add the sour cream, buttermilk, scallions, and salt to the bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Buffalo Cabbage Spring Rolls:

1. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper evenly all over the chicken. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through—, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest for 2 to 3 minutes; then chop it into ½-inch pieces.
2. To make the filling, placePut the cream cheese and hot sauce in a large microwave-safe bowl; and microwave on high until the cheese is has slightly softened slightly—, 15 to 20 seconds—. and then wWhisk the mixture them tountil well gethercombined. . It (This mixture does not have to be perfectly smooth; it’s okay to have some lumps.) Add the chicken, slaw mix, celery, scallions, cilantro, garlic powder, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to the bowl and stir until well combined.
3. Arrange the egg roll wrappers on a work surface, orienting each so one corner points toward you (making a diamond shape). Have ready a small bowl of water and a pastry brush. Make the rolls one at a time: Spoon about ½ cup of the filling onto the center and then brush a little water onto the margins. Fold up the bottom corner over the filling; then fold up each side corner. Then roll the filled wrapper over on itself toward the top corner.
4. Pour oil into a small or medium heavy-bottomed saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches (but not more than halfway up the sides). Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring the oil to 375°F; (use a candy thermometer to register the temperature). Working in small batches, fry the rolls until they are golden brown on all sides—. 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer each batch to a paper- towel– lined plate to drain.
5. Serve the rolls hot with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce.

Notes:

• don’t always have buttermilk on hand, and although it adds a little extra tang to the dipping sauce, it can easily be replaced with any milk or cream you keep have in your fridge.
• 50/50 - With all the flavor going on in these spring rolls, you will not miss the meat if you prefer a vegetarian appetizer—there are many times I choose to serve them meatless. To make half the recipe meatless, use only 3 ounces chicken, but add an extra ½ cup slaw mix; (don’t add the chicken to the filling until after you’ve made 3 vegetarian rolls. Or to go totally meat-free, and simply replace all the chicken with an extra cup of the slaw mix.
• FF - Kids aren’t big fans of blue cheese? Leave it out for a scallion– sour cream dressing. Also to tone down the spicy taste, cut the amount of hot sauce to 3 tablespoons and use 5 ounces of cream cheese instead for a milder version.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in Meat on the Side!

 

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Mushroom Gravy

My “Meat On The Side” philosophy, at its simplest, is about eating less meat and more veggies.

But if you want to get a little more complex, it's also about infusing vegetables into your meals--not just to make those meals more nutritious, but to elevate those dishes--to make them better.

For this mushroom gravy, I’m creating a super-rich, bold mushroom stock that will heighten your traditional turkey pan gravy to a gravy that tastes like it was made by a master chef!

And if you'd like to make a vegan version--which will still taste better than almost any gravy you've ever tasted--you can thicken it up without adding the turkey drippings.

Oh, and yes, you heard me right…VEGAN!

Your vegan or vegetarian guests will love this seemingly magic gravy they can pour over everything!

And you can still make a separate version with your pan drippings for the rest of the group.

Just sauté up some Portobello mushrooms with browned onions, garlic, thyme and, rosemary.

Add some rehydrated dried porcini mushrooms…

...Strain…

...And thicken with an oil and flour roux (vegan version), or add some flour to your turkey pan to create a traditional turkey dripping roux.

Then the only thing left to do is to prepare yourself (and your guests!) to lick this gravy straight off the plate!

Mushroom Gravy

servings: 2 1/2 cups gravy

Ingredients:

• ½ cup dried wild porcini mushrooms (0.7 ounce package)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium Vidalia onion, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• One 8-ounce package sliced Portobello mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• 1 cup vegetable, turkey or chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Place the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and cover them with 2 cups of boiling water. Set them aside and allow them to soak for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper and cook until the onion browns (you want some color on them)—about 6 minutes. Then add the Portobello mushrooms and continue cooking the veggies until the mushrooms are very brown—about 6 minutes. Next, add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary and cook for 1 minute more.
3. Pour in the sherry and then scrape the bottom of the skillet vigorously with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen any brown bits so that they are incorporated into the mixture in the skillet. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated—about 2 minutes.
4. Next, add the vegetable stock along with the mushrooms and liquid from Step 1, being careful not to pour all the mushroom broth liquid into the skillet as there will be sediment at the very bottom of the bowl that you will not want to use. Cook until slightly reduced—about 4 minutes.
5. Strain everything and then set the vegetables to the side (save them for another use or simply serve them as a side dish). Be sure to push on the mushrooms as you are straining in order to remove as much liquid from them as possible.
6. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and the flour to a large pan over medium heat and whisk to combine, then allow to cook for 1 minute. Add the mushroom broth, whisking as you go, and cook until thickened—about 5 minutes. OR (for the non-vegan version), add the mushroom broth to your turkey pan once you remove the turkey. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen up any brown bits, allowing them to become part of the broth. Then pour the broth and brown bits into a liquid measuring cup (or glass bowl) and let it sit until the fat separates from the broth (placing the measuring cup in the refrigerator will speed up this process). Once separated, remove 2 tablespoons of the fat from the top of the measuring cup and add it back to your turkey pan over medium heat, along with the flour (you can discard any additional remaining fat in the measuring cup, but be sure to reserve the broth). Whisk the flour and fat mixture to combine and allow it to cook for 1 minute. Then whisk in the mushroom broth from the measuring cup and cook until thickened—about 5 minutes. *Read the “Keep It Simple” note for ideas about how to make this for a large group.

Notes:

• Keep It Simple - This is a very rich gravy that you can stretch for a large group—especially if you are combining it with turkey drippings and/or using a turkey or chicken stock instead of veggie stock.
• Also, for each additional cup of stock you use in this recipe, you will also need to use an additional 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of drippings/oil. For example, if you use 2 cups of stock instead of the 1 the recipe calls for, you will also need to increase the flour to 3 tablespoons and the drippings or oil to 3 tablespoons. Keep extra stock or water on hand to thin if necessary.
• Find more information on mushrooms at thrivecuisine.com.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in Meat on the Side!

 

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